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^:ip«yE£C-iTy  OF  ILLINOIS  LICRARY 

ew^k  Museum  Association 


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Newark,  N,  J. 


Habitations  of  Man 


Floor  Plan  of  a  Model  of  a  Greek  House 

he  scale  of  the  floor  plan  to  the  model  is  i  inch  to 
lo  inches. 
The  scale  of  the  floor  plan  to  the  house  at  Priene  is 
I  inch  to  22^/2  feet. 


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This  leaflet  describes  a  model  of  the  restoration  of  a 
Greek  house  in  the  ancient  city  of  Priene,  near  Smyrna 
on  the  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  The  house  dates  from 
about  300  B.  C.  and  was  excavated  in  1895  by  German 
archaeologfists. 

The  model  is  34"  x  24"  and  is  made  of  wood.  The 
scale  is  i  -.2^.  It  was  built  by  Friedrich  Rausch  of  Nord- 
ihausen,  Germany. 


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A  Greek  House 

To  Vitruvius,  who  lived  in  Rome  about  50,  B.  C,  we 
owe  much  of  our  information  about  the  private  house  of 
the  Greeks. 

He  tells  us  that  it  was  usually  divided  into  two  sections, 
the  Andronitis,  apartments  for  men,  and  the  Gynaeconitis, 
for  women.  When  the  house  had  two  stories,  the  Gynae- 
conitis was  upstairs ;  most  houses  had  but  one.  Some- 
times each  section  had  its  own  entrance  from  the  street; 
more  often  there  was  but  one  entrance. 

The  house  at  Priene,  of  which  the  Newark  Museum 
has  a  model,  originally  adjoined  the  house  next  door, 
forming  the  two  sections  mentioned  by  Vitruvius.  This 
half  was  then  occupied  by  a  poor  man  who  did  not  need 
the  entire  house  for  his  small  household. 

It  dates  from  about  300  B.  C.  and  was  excavated  in 
1895-8  by  German  archaeologists,  who  have  made  a  care- 
ful restoration  of  it. 

The  outside  walls  of  all  Greek  houses  were  plain  in 
appearance  and  seldom  broken  by  windows.  The  inside 
rooms  were  lighted  by  the  doors  opening  into  the  court. 
The  foundations  were  of  stone,  usually  of  large  size; 
those  of  the  house  at  Priene  were  about  twenty-five  inches 
long.  The  walls  were  of  wood,  sometimes  filled  in  with 
sun-dried  bricks.  The  roofs  were  flat  and  made  of  un- 
baked brick. 

The  home  of  the  ordinary  man  was  entered  by  a  small 
door  in  a  bare  wall.  The  door  opened  inward,  for 
Hippias,  about  514  B.  C.,  laid  a  tax  on  outward  swinging 
doors  because  of  the  space  they  stole  from  the  already 
narrow  street.  Close  to  the  door  inside  was  the  room 
of  the  porter,  who  usually  kept  a  dog;  hence  the  floor 
inscription  in  some  Greek  houses,  and  later  on  in  Roman 
ones,  "Cave  canem,"  "Beware  of  the  Dog." 

A  long  passage  led  to  an  open  court.    In  it  was  usually 


JAN  2  7  1916 
A  Greek  House 3 

an  altar  for  sacrificing  to  the  household  god.  Around 
this  open  court  and  opening  into  it  were  rooms — dining 
and  storerooms,  bedchambers  and  libraries.  Each  house 
had  at  least  one  hall  large  enough  for  invited  dinner 
guests  and  their  couches,  musicians,  waiters  and  the 
many  appointments  of  elaborate  banquets. 

In  the  house  in  Priene  this  large  hall  was  the  oecus  or 
dining-room.  The  prostas,  or  room  which  stood  before 
the  oecus,  was  apparently  used  as  a  kitchen,  for  remains 
of  vessels  and  an  old  hearth  were  found  there.  The  floor 
was  of  marble.  In  the  small  room  next  to  the  oecus  the 
pipes  of  a  complete  drainage  system  have  been  unearthed. 

Adjoining  the  prostas  was  the  thalamos  or  bedroom 
of  the  owner.  Fragments  of  stucco  decoration  were 
found  on  the  walls  of  this  room  and  in  other  rooms  traces 
of  color. 


Greek  furniture  was  simple  but  in  good  taste.  There 
were  chairs,  beds  and  couches,  often  of  bronze  and  of 
beautiful  pattern,  adjustable  tripods  for  tables,  chests  for 
clothing,  sundials  and  water  clocks,  earthenware  for  many 
purposes  and  kitchen  utensils. 

The  house  life  of  the  Greeks  was  as  simple  as  their 
houses.  In  Athens  during  the  classical  period  early  rising 
was  the  rule,  for  artisans  began  their  work  shortly  after 
sunrise  and  schools  opened  early.  The  morning  toilet 
was  not  a  matter  of  much  moment ;  a  slave  poured  water 
over  the  master  and  he  used  some  substitute  for  soap,  as 
fuller's  earth;  the  common  people  went  to  the  public 
wells  to  wash.  Breakfast  was  a  scanty  meal,  usually  wine 
and  bread.  Persons  of  the  leisure  class  spent  the  morn- 
ing visiting  friends  or  at  the  barber's,  where  hair  and 
beard  were  trimmed  and  nails  cleaned.  The  barber  shops 
were  much  visited  by  people  who  wished  to  hear  the  news. 


.w 


4  The  Newark  Museum  Association 

About  noon  people  gathered  at  the  market-place  -where 
most  of  the  business  of  the  city  was  transacted.     Here 
.■*ivere  the  bankers  and  money  changers,  artisans  and  deal- 
ers.   Here  the  men  of  the  family,  attended  by  slaves,\.did 
the  buying  for  the  household. 

After  a  light  lunch  the  early  afternoon  was  passed  in 
various  ways,  such  as  reading,  writing  or  visiting  houses 
devoted  to  dice- thro  wing.  In  the  late  afternoon  a  warm 
bath  was  taken  in  preparation  for  dinner.  Greek  baths 
were  not  as  large  or  luxurious  as  the  famous  ones  of  the 
Romans.  Cold  baths  were  preferred,  followed  by  a  rubj ,, 
down  with  oil,  after  which  the  bathers  congregated  in 
common  resting  rooms  for  talking,  singing  and  throwing 
dice.  --,i.i';?  -  ■•    if; 

The  evening  meal  at  home  was  usually  shttple  and  se*ii 
over.  If  guests  were  present  it  was  prolonged  faf  into 
the  night  with  drinking  and  animated  talk.  At  family 
meals  the  men  reclined  upon  couches  while  eating, -with 
the  women  at  their  feet.  The  children  sat  bn  chairs  about 
the  table.  When  guests  were  invited,  women  seldom  ap- 
peared at  the  meal.  Forks  and  knives  were  used  ior 
cutting  food  in  the  kitchen  only.  The  diners  used  spoong, 
pieces  of  bread  hollowed  out  and  their  fingers!  Table 
cloths  and  napkins  were  unknown ;  towels  and  water  for 
washing  were  handed  about  after  the  meal.  '-' 

The  Greeks  during  this  period  spent  the  most  of  their 
money  on  their  temples  and  public  buildings,  and  left 
their  homes,  both  inside  and  out,  simple  and  almost  bare 
of  decoi?ation.  The  walls  were  sometimes  colored ;  but  ; 
fresco  and  stucco  work  were  not  used  until  later  times. 
The  floors  were  of  stone,  laid  sometimes  in  simple  pat- 
terns. There  was  lit^e  furniture  and  that  of  a  severe 
design.  There  were  often  draperies  on  the  couches  and 
hangings  sometimes  took  the  -^ce  of  doors. 


